Fuel control systems, of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,137,242, are used in controlling the supply of fuel to an aircraft engine. Such systems have a hydro-mechanical unit (HMU) which contains a metering valve and which receives a supply of fuel at high pressure (HP) from a gear pump driven from, and thus operated at a speed related to, the main shaft of the associated gas turbine engine. The inlet of the gear pump is supplied from a fuel reservoir by means of a boost pump or lift pump, the pressure at the inlet of the gear pump being defined as low pressure (LP), which in practice may be above atmospheric pressure but substantially below HP. The supply line from the outlet of the gear pump contains a fuel filter and enters the HMU to provide an HP supply to the inlet gallery of the metering valve and thence to a variable metering orifice of the valve. As is conventional in metering valves, a spool of the valve is moved within the housing of the valve to control the degree of opening of the metering orifice of the valve and thus the metering of fuel flow through the valve. A delivery line from the metering valve conducts metered fuel through a pressure raising and shut-off valve (PRSOV) of the HMU. The PRSOV serves, in use, to maintain a minimum fuel pump pressure rise (HP-LP), so as to ensure that internal HMU valves and any fuel-pressure operated auxiliary devices (such as variable stator vane actuators, variable inlet guide vane actuators and bleed valve actuators) arranged to receive fuel under pressure from the fuel control system can operate correctly. An output line from the PRSOV exits the HMU to pass the metered fuel to the engine burner manifold(s).
As performance demands on engines increase, the loads exerted on fuel-pressure operated auxiliary devices are also increasing. More particularly, one option for adapting fuel control systems to meet future higher load requirements is to use larger actuators and larger servo-valves in conjunction with a higher minimum pump pressure rise (HP-LP). However, the use of larger actuators and servo-valves may be limited by space constraints. In addition, raising the minimum pump pressure rise (HP-LP) increases heat input to the fuel and increases the risk of damage to the pump bearings, which have to run on thinner bearing film thicknesses at high pressure, low speed conditions. Thus there is a need to improve engine fuel control systems such that fuel is supplied at adequate flow rates and pressures to auxiliary devices. There is also a need to maintain or improve fuel control system efficiencies because of their impact on overall engine efficiencies.